Job Discussion Forums

[MattElz]

Anyone know of an excellent short or long term program to learn Spanish in L.A. or maybe Spain? My budget is limited and I would like to become fluent in Spanish.

(I realize this is off topic, but I figured some of you may know about this).

[Phil_b]

I think

www.cactuslanguage.co.uk have got a number in L.A. and Spain.... You can also combine them with other things (Salsa, Tango, Skiing, etc....)

No idea if they're any good... there's probably a load of better ones out there...

[chris_f]

Hi,

If you are interested in going to Spain, I highly recommend Granada and studying at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas. It is a part of the university, but you do not have to be enrolled in any university to attend classes. I went on my own, as a 30-year old, had a great experience, and learned a lot. The program I did consisted of two language classes and three culture classes, a selection of which you get to chose from, depending on availability. I did, for example, a Spanish literature and history course, plus a course on Islamic culture in Spain, which was fascinating, especially given the location and the Alhambra up on the hill.

Granada itself is a fabulous city. As elegant as Seville is, I think there is something more authentic about Granada, although there are giddies everywhere, and my classes were mostly full of British and, above all, American students studying abroad. Accomodation is around, and reasonable. Having a cell phone helps a lot for everything.

Overall, I really recommend Granada and the CLM. If you speak no Spanish at all, perhaps you might benefit from smaller classes and a communicative approach, and maybe going to a place like Ecuador would be cheaper. If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to tell you more about my experiences. The web-site, I think, is www.clm.es.

Suerte, Chris

[denise]

I studied in Guatemala through Amerispan. (Don't know what their website is, but a google search would bring it right up.) They're not a school, but a placement service that will find you a school and a homestay. (And don't worry--they are a highly reputable service!) They work with several countries in Central & South America, and I believe they work with schools in Spain as well. I was financially limited at the time as well. I think I paid about $600 for four weeks of classes & accommodation.

Oh, one more thing--you can choose the length of your stay. You pay per week. In some cases, you can also choose group or private lessons. (OK, I guess that's two more things.)

d

[MixtecaMike]

Go anywhere they speakSpanish on vacation, fall in love, get married.

Worked fine for me, but it's not the cheapest option.

Otherwise Guatemala is always good for Spanish courses, Quetzaltenago (a.k.a. Xela) or Antigua.

[Weona]

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[mariah27]

[Weona]

[Nate]

Bump! I'm interested in learning Spanish in either Spain or Latin America.

[Guy Courchesne]

Here's a decent resource for finding programs...

http://www.worldwide.edu/index.html

I've heard that Antigua, Guatemala offers attractive and economical programs. Cuernavaca, Mexico has a number of them as well. I think to become fluent, there's no better way than to just go and live in a Spanish-speaking country for as long as you can.

[agears]

It seems Antigua Guatemala is the hot spot because it is SO cheap.

There are about 20-30 language schools in the city.

I'm going there in a couple of weeks to check it out.

Basically, 4 hours of lessons a day, 5 days a week, one on one with a tutor ranges from about $80-120 a week, and family homestays are as little as $65 a week, meals included.

Just do a search for them.

[Nate]

[MixtecaMike]

nate, come down to Yeongju for Chuseok and I'll talk to you in Spanish over a plate of dongkkaseu and kimchi.

[Cdaniels]